85-595: San Francisco Bay Ferry is a public transit passenger ferry service in the San Francisco Bay , administered by the San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA) and operated under contract by the privately owned, Blue and Gold Fleet . In 2023, the system had a ridership of 2,230,400, or about 8,600 per weekday as of the third quarter of 2024. San Francisco Bay Ferry
170-595: A Ride within Benicia. Ferry service from Vallejo to San Francisco , which was operated by Vallejo Transit, is now provided by San Francisco Bay Ferry , the public operating arm of the San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority [WETA]. SolanoExpress is a public transit network of regional express buses connecting Solano County, California to Contra Costa County (across
255-519: A few school tripper routes. It also purchase five used Gillig Phantoms for their main route and begin serving the Martinez Amtrak station between 1994 and 1997, before dedicating a route to it in 2005. MV Transportation was awarded a contract to operate Benicia Transit in 2000, who would acquire controlling interest in VCTC five years later, transforming it into an MV subsidiary. In 2001,
340-1022: A hotspot for polybrominated diphenyl ether ( PBDE ) flame retardants used to make upholstered furniture and infant care items less flammable. PBDEs have been largely phased out and replaced with alternative phosphate flame retardants. A 2019 San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) study assayed a wide range of these newer flame retardant chemicals in Bay waters, bivalve California mussels ( Mytilus californianus ), and harbor seals ( Phoca vitulina ) which haul out in Corkscrew Slough on Bair Island in San Mateo County , with phosphate flame retardant contaminants such as tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl)phosphate (TDCPP) and triphenyl phosphate (TPhP) found at levels comparable to thresholds for aquatic toxicity. Thousands of man-made chemicals are found in Bay water, sediment, and organisms. For many of these, there
425-667: A major seaport . The Port of Oakland is one of the largest cargo ports in the United States, while the Port of Richmond and the Port of San Francisco provide smaller services. An additional crossing south of the Bay Bridge has long been proposed. San Francisco Bay is popular for sailors (boats, as well as windsurfing and kitesurfing ), due to consistent strong westerly/northwesterly thermally-generated winds – Beaufort force 6 (15–25 knots; 17–29 mph; 8–13 m/s)
510-518: A new transit agency with Vallejo Transit, citing the declining ridership and revenue caused by the Great Recession . On November 16, 2010, both cities agreed to enter into a joint powers authority agreement with the STA, calling the new transit agency Solano County Transit (or SolTrans for short). The name was selected out of fifteen others as it opens the possibility of other transit agencies in
595-573: A safe eating advisory for fish caught in the San Francisco Bay based on levels of mercury or PCBs found in local species. The San Francisco Bay Area Water Trail is a planned system of designated trailheads designed to improve non-motorized small boat access to the bay. The California Coastal Conservancy approved funding in March 2011 to begin implementation of the water trail. SolTrans SolTrans , officially Solano County Transit ,
680-573: A single northbound route 82 bus trip via the Ferry Building in the late evening, intended for passengers who miss the last ferry to Vallejo. On March 6, 2017, service to Mare Island began as a short extension of Vallejo service. Initially, seven weekday round trips and four weekend round trips were extended to Mare Island. Weekday commuter service from a remodeled Richmond Ferry Terminal , in Richmond 's Marina Bay District , to San Francisco
765-560: A widespread distribution in the bay, with uptake in the bay's phytoplankton and contamination of its sportfish. In January 1971, two Standard Oil tankers collided in the bay, creating an 800,000-U.S.-gallon (3,000,000-liter) oil spill disaster , which spurred environmental protection of the bay. In November 2007, a ship named COSCO Busan collided with the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge and spilled over 58,000 U.S. gallons (220,000 liters) of bunker fuel , creating
850-404: Is a Joint Powers Authority that provides public transportation service to the southern Solano County cities of Vallejo and Benicia . SolTrans was established in 2011 and is the result of a merger between Vallejo Transit and Benicia Breeze . In 2023, the system had a ridership of 954,200, or about 3,400 per weekday as of the third quarter of 2024. The origins of SolTrans lead back to
935-527: Is a bus station in North Vallejo. As of July 1, 2019, SolTrans operates sixteen bus routes: nine local routes and three supplemental school routes operate within the Vallejo/Benicia area, and three routes provide intercity service. SolTrans operates a mixed fleet of buses. When SolTrans was fully integrated in 2011, it introduced Gillig Low Floor hybrid buses for local bus service, while
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#17327725341701020-533: Is a different system from Golden Gate Ferry , which provides passenger ferry service between San Francisco and Marin County . San Francisco Bay Ferry operates six ferry routes: There are two "short hop" routes that do not cross the bay: There are also three seasonal sports routes: Commuter service to Vallejo began in September 1986. It operated by Red & White Fleet without subsidy, though Vallejo funded
1105-563: Is common on summer afternoons – and protection from large open ocean swells. Yachting and yacht racing are popular pastimes and the San Francisco Bay Area is home to many of the world's top sailors. A shoreline bicycle and pedestrian trail known as the San Francisco Bay Trail encircles the edge of the bay. The San Francisco Bay Area Water Trail , a growing network of launching and landing sites around
1190-433: Is little or no data on their impacts on the environment or human health, and they are not regulated by state or federal law. These are often referred to as "contaminants of emerging concern." The San Francisco Estuary Institute has studied these chemicals in the Bay since 2001. Scientists have identified the following most likely to have a negative impact on Bay wildlife: San Francisco Bay's profile changed dramatically in
1275-543: Is now called Drakes Bay . At the time, Drakes Bay went by the name Bahia de San Francisco and thus both bodies of water became associated with the name. Eventually, the larger, more important body of water fully appropriated the name San Francisco Bay . The first European to enter the bay is believed to have been the Spanish explorer Juan de Ayala , who passed through the Golden Gate on August 5, 1775, in his ship
1360-669: Is part of the Western Express Bicycle Route , and is also part of US Bike Route 50 . In the days and weeks following the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake , ferry service was hastily restored between San Francisco and the East Bay while the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge was closed for repairs. After the Bay Bridge reopened in November 1989, service between Jack London Square , Main Street Alameda, and
1445-609: Is shipped throughout the Western United States to bakeries, canneries, fisheries, cheese makers and other food industries and used to de-ice winter highways, clean kidney dialysis machines, for animal nutrition, and in many industries. Many companies have produced salt in the bay, with the Leslie Salt Company the largest private land owner in the Bay Area in the 1940s. Low-salinity salt ponds mirror
1530-974: The Benicia Flyer route serving the Southampton hills operated for one year, before being discontinued due to low ridership and replaced with the Benicia Rocket , a route serving the Benicia Industrial Park. By October 2005, all named routes were converted into numbers: the main Vallejo/Pleasant Hill eventually being Route 75; the Amtrak being Route 23, and school trippers being Routes 15 through 18. 2006 saw Benicia Transit being re-branded as Benicia Breeze , replacing its dial-a-ride service into deviated fixed-routes and reducing its school tripper routes to two. Route 75
1615-750: The California state legislature in 2007 by Senate Bill 976. The organization is a successor to the San Francisco Bay Water Transit Authority ( WTA ), which the legislature established in 1999. WETA assumed responsibility and ownership of the SF–Oakland/Alameda and SF–Harbor Bay ferry services previously operated by the City of Alameda in May 2011 and January 2012 respectively. Service between Oakland Ferry Terminal and
1700-900: The Carquinez Strait ) and the Sacramento Valley . It is managed by the Solano Transportation Authority and operated by SolTrans . The Solano Transportation Authority is a joint powers authority established in 1990 by Solano County and the cities of Benicia , Dixon , Fairfield , Rio Vista , Suisun City , Vacaville , and Vallejo to serve as the Congestion Management Agency for Solano County, as mandated by California law. SolTrans operates three transportation hubs in Vallejo. The Vallejo Transit Center serves as
1785-879: The Dumbarton Rail Bridge , the first bridge crossing San Francisco Bay. The first automobile crossing was the Dumbarton Bridge , completed in January 1927. More crossings were later constructed – the Carquinez Bridge in May 1927, the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge in 1936, the Golden Gate Bridge in 1937, the Richmond–San Rafael Bridge in 1956, and the San Mateo–Hayward Bridge in 1967. During
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#17327725341701870-633: The Kamchatka Peninsula and Japan. Recent genetic studies show that there is a local stock from San Francisco to the Russian River and that eastern Pacific coastal populations rarely migrate far, unlike western Atlantic Harbor porpoise. The common bottlenose dolphin ( Tursiops truncatus ) has been extending its current range northwards from the Southern California Bight . The first coastal bottlenose dolphin in
1955-659: The Russian–American Company entered San Francisco Bay in 1807 and again over 1810–1811. Led by the Russian Timofei Nikitich Tarakanov , these hunting raids probably wiped out sea otters in the bay. Thousands of sea otter skins were taken to Sitka, then Guangzhou (Canton), China, where they commanded a high price. The United States seized the region from Mexico during the Mexican–American War (1846–1848). On February 2, 1848,
2040-652: The Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers, and from the Sierra Nevada mountains, flow into Suisun Bay , which then travels through the Carquinez Strait to meet with the Napa River at the entrance to San Pablo Bay , which connects at its south end to San Francisco Bay. It then connects to the Pacific Ocean via the Golden Gate strait. However, this entire group of interconnected bays is often called
2125-521: The Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta remain perhaps California's most important ecological habitats . California's Dungeness crab , California halibut , and Pacific salmon fisheries rely on the bay as a nursery. The few remaining salt marshes now represent most of California's remaining salt marsh, supporting a number of endangered species and providing key ecosystem services such as filtering pollutants and sediments from
2210-548: The San Carlos and moored in a bay of Angel Island now known as Ayala Cove. Ayala continued to explore the San Francisco Bay Area and the expedition's cartographer, José de Cañizares, gathered the information necessary to produce the first map of the area. A number of place names survive (anglicized) from that first map, including Point Reyes , Angel Island , Farallon Islands , and Alcatraz Island . Alaskan Native sea otter hunters using Aleutian kayaks and working for
2295-430: The San Francisco Bay . The bay was designated a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance on February 2, 2013, and the Port of Oakland on the bay is one of the busiest cargo ports on the west coast. The bay covers somewhere between 400 and 1,600 square miles (1,000–4,000 km ), depending on which sub-bays (such as San Pablo Bay), estuaries, wetlands , and so on are included in the measurement. The main part of
2380-649: The San Francisco Ferry Building was maintained as the Alameda/Oakland Ferry , managed by the City of Alameda and operated by Red & White Fleet with funding from local governments and Caltrans. In March 1992, Alameda Harbor Bay Ferry service was begun between Harbor Bay ferry terminal on Bay Farm Island and the San Francisco Ferry Building. It was initially funded by Harbor Bay Isle Associates,
2465-552: The 20th century, the bay was subject to the 1940s Reber Plan , which would have filled in parts of the bay in order to increase industrial activity along the waterfront. In 1959, the United States Army Corps of Engineers released a report stating that if current infill trends continued, the bay would be as big as a shipping channel by 2020. This news created the Save the Bay movement in 1960, which mobilized to stop
2550-547: The Bay Area in recent times was spotted in 1983 off the San Mateo County coast in 1983. In 2001, bottlenose dolphins were first spotted east of the Golden Gate Bridge and confirmed by photographic evidence in 2007. Zooarcheological remains of bottlenose dolphins indicated that bottlenose dolphins inhabited San Francisco Bay in prehistoric times until at least 700 years before present, and dolphin skulls dredged from
2635-663: The City of Vallejo took control of it. However, the Vallejo City Council opted to close it in 1956 due to financial restraints. In response, community leaders led by Senator Luther Gibson created the Vallejo Citizens Transit Corporation (VCTC) in hopes of continuing services in Vallejo. The city subsequently transferred the fleet of thirteen buses to VCTC, who branded it Vallejo Transit Lines on May 1. The Benicia-Vallejo Stage Line
San Francisco Bay Ferry - Misplaced Pages Continue
2720-612: The Mexican province of Alta California was annexed to the United States with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo . A year and a half later, California requested to join the United States on December 3, 1849, and was accepted as the 31st State of the Union on September 9, 1850. In 1921, a tablet was dedicated by a group of men in downtown San Francisco, marking the site of the original shoreline. The tablet reads: "This tablet marks
2805-685: The Pleistocene in accordance with sea level changes caused by glacial advances and retreats. During the Wisconsin Glaciation , between 15,000 and about 10,000 years ago, the basin which is now filled by the San Francisco Bay was a large river valley with small hills, channeling the Sacramento River through the Golden Gate Strait into the ocean. When the great ice sheets began to melt, around 11,000 years ago,
2890-476: The Port of Oakland. Some six million cubic yards (160 million cubic feet; 4.6 million cubic meters) of mud from the dredging was deposited at the western edge of Middle Harbor Shoreline Park to become a 188-acre (0.294 sq mi; 0.76 km ) shallow-water wetlands habitat for marine and shore life. Further dredging followed in 2011, to maintain the navigation channel. This dredging enabled
2975-659: The South San Francisco–Oakland/Alameda route was dropped on May 4, 2015, leaving only three peak-direction round trips. South San Francisco–Ferry Building service ended on July 2, 2018. Seasonal direct service between Oakland/Alameda and Angel Island ended on October 26, 2014; timed transfers at Pier 41 for Blue & Gold Fleet service to Angel Island were introduced beginning with the 2015 summer season. On January 2, 2017, WETA increased weekday Vallejo service to 14 southbound and 13 northbound trips, with route 200 bus service discontinued. SolTrans began operating
3060-595: The WETA's fleet consists of seventeen vessels, with one under construction at Mavrik Marine and expected to enter service in 2023. Long term plans call for an additional 44 ferries to enter the fleet by 2035. San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the U.S. state of California , and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area . It is dominated by the cities of San Francisco , San Jose , and Oakland . San Francisco Bay drains water from approximately 40 percent of California. Water from
3145-431: The arrival of Europeans. Indigenous peoples used canoes to fish and clam along the shoreline. Sailing ships enabled transportation between the bay and other parts of the world—and served as ferries and freighters within the bay and between the bay and inland ports, such as Sacramento and Stockton. These were gradually replaced by steam-powered vessels starting in the late 19th century. Several shipyards were established around
3230-628: The arrival of the largest container ship ever to enter the San Francisco Bay, the MSC Fabiola . Bay pilots trained for the visit on a simulator at the California Maritime Academy for over a year. The ship arrived drawing less than its full draft of 50 feet 10 inches (15.5 m) because it held only three-quarters of a load after its stop in Long Beach. San Francisco Bay was traversed by watercraft before
3315-401: The average depth of the bay is only as deep as a swimming pool—approximately 12 to 15 ft (4–5 m). Between Hayward and San Mateo to San Jose it is 12 to 36 in (30–90 cm). The deepest part of the bay is under and out of the Golden Gate Bridge, at 372 ft (113 m). In the late 1990s, a 12-year harbor-deepening project for the Port of Oakland began; it
3400-427: The bay and converting them back to wetlands. The idea was, and remains, controversial. ( For further details, see the " Bay fill and depth profile " section. ) There are five large islands in San Francisco Bay. Alameda , the largest island, was created when a shipping lane was cut to form the Port of Oakland in 1901. It is now a suburban community. Angel Island was known as " Ellis Island West" because it served as
3485-533: The bay for non-motorized small boat users (such as kayakers) is being developed. Parks and protected areas around the bay include Eden Landing Ecological Reserve , Hayward Regional Shoreline , Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge , Hayward Shoreline Interpretive Center , Crown Memorial State Beach , Eastshore State Park , Point Isabel Regional Shoreline , Brooks Island Regional Preserve , and César Chávez Park . The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has developed
San Francisco Bay Ferry - Misplaced Pages Continue
3570-700: The bay measures three to twelve miles (5–19 km) wide east-to-west and somewhere between 48 miles (77 km) and 60 miles (97 km) north-to-south. San Francisco Bay is the second-largest estuary on the Pacific coast of the Americas, following the Salish Sea in Washington State and British Columbia, Canada. The bay was navigable as far south as San Jose until the 1850s, when hydraulic mining released massive amounts of sediment from
3655-522: The bay perimeter. San Francisco Bay provided the nation's first wildlife refuge, Oakland's artificial Lake Merritt , constructed in the 1860s, and America's first urban National Wildlife Refuge, the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge (SFBNWR) in 1972. The bay is also plagued by non-native species. Salt produced from San Francisco Bay is produced in salt evaporation ponds and
3740-417: The bay suggest occasional visitors in historic times. San Francisco Bay faces many of the same water quality issues as other urban waterways in industrialized countries, or downstream of intensive agriculture. According to state water quality regulators, San Francisco Bay waters do not meet water quality standards for the following pollutants: Industrial, mining, and other uses of mercury have resulted in
3825-481: The bay, augmented during wartime (e.g., the Kaiser Shipyards , Richmond Shipyards ) near Richmond in 1940 for World War II for construction of mass-produced, assembly line Liberty and Victory cargo ships . San Francisco Bay is spanned by nine bridges, eight of which carry cars . The Transbay Tube , an underwater rail tunnel, carries BART services between Oakland and San Francisco. Prior to
3910-620: The bridges and, later, the Transbay Tube, transbay transportation was dominated by fleets of ferryboats operated by the Southern Pacific Railroad and the Key System transit company. However, in recent decades, ferries have returned, primarily serving commuters from Marin County, relieving the traffic bottleneck of the Golden Gate Bridge (see Ferries of San Francisco Bay ). The bay also continues to serve as
3995-518: The bus station was upgraded for around $ US10 million. The station is served by SolTrans buses including local route 3 to the Glen Cove District. Line 78 provides intercity service to the Walnut Creek BART station while route 80 connects it to the El Cerrito del Norte BART station . There is a casual carpool and vanpool area here. There is also an operations and maintenance facility for SolTrans here. In 2013 some people expressed concern that parking fees may rise. The Sereno Transit Station
4080-403: The center of the bay is Alcatraz , the site of the famous federal penitentiary. The federal prison on Alcatraz Island no longer functions, but the complex is a popular tourist site. Despite its name, Mare Island in the northern part of the bay is a peninsula rather than an island. San Francisco Bay is thought to represent a down-warping of the Earth's crust between the San Andreas Fault to
4165-427: The center of the bay, following the ancient drowned river valley. In the 1860s and continuing into the early 20th century, miners dumped staggering quantities of mud and gravel from hydraulic mining operations into the upper Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers. GK Gilbert's estimates of debris total more than eight times the amount of rock and dirt moved during construction of the Panama Canal. This material flowed down
4250-455: The city of South San Francisco began on June 4, 2012, which also coincided with use of the new San Francisco Bay Ferry name. WETA assumed control of Vallejo Baylink service on July 1, 2012. Approximately half of the agency's operating funds come from Regional Measure 2, a $ 1 toll increase on Bay Area bridges approved in 2004, and the other half comes from fares. Since 2011, the private Blue & Gold Fleet has been under contract to operate
4335-554: The county to join the agreement. In 2013, National Express Transit replaced MV as its operations contractor, followed by Transdev in July 2021. SolTrans provides local and express bus service to the Solano County cities of Vallejo , Benicia , and Fairfield . It also provides express bus service to the Contra Costa County communities of El Cerrito , Pleasant Hill , and Walnut Creek , providing regional connections to BART . SolTrans also provides ADA complementary paratransit within Vallejo and Benicia and General Public Dial
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#17327725341704420-400: The decades surrounding 1900, at the behest of local political officials and following Congressional orders, the U.S. Army Corps began dredging the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers and the deep channels of San Francisco Bay. This work has continued without interruption ever since. Some of the dredge spoils were initially dumped in the bay shallows (including helping to create Treasure Island on
4505-407: The early 20th century between two independent bus companies who served southern Solano County. These two companies were eventually acquired by the cities of either of Vallejo or Benicia, before consolidating to become Solano County Transit. The Vallejo Bus Company was founded by Hartley Lowell in 1919. In 1935, the Vallejo Bus Company began to change hands between a number of owners until 1949 when
4590-419: The ecosystem of the bay, with fish and fish-eating birds in abundance. Mid-salinity ponds support dense populations of brine shrimp , which provide a rich food source for millions of shorebirds. Only salt-tolerant micro-algae survive in the high salinity ponds, and impart a deep red color to these ponds from the pigment within the algae protoplasm. The salt marsh harvest mouse is an endangered species endemic to
4675-449: The edges of the bay were, for many years, considered wasted space. As a result, soil excavated for building projects or dredged from channels was often dumped onto the wetlands and other parts of the bay as landfill. From the mid-19th century through the late 20th century, more than a third of the original bay was filled and often built on. The deep, damp soil in these areas is subject to soil liquefaction during earthquakes, and most of
4760-472: The entry point for immigrants from East Asia. It is now a state park accessible by ferry. Mountainous Yerba Buena Island is pierced by a tunnel linking the east and west spans of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge . Attached to the north is the artificial and flat Treasure Island , site of the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition . From the Second World War until the 1990s, both islands served as military bases and are now being redeveloped. Isolated in
4845-428: The ferries on behalf of WETA. On April 29, 2013, a third evening trip from South San Francisco to Oakland was added, as well as a midday leisure-oriented round trip on Wednesdays and Fridays between South San Francisco and Pier 41 via the Ferry Building. South San Francisco–Ferry Building service was expanded to Monday through Friday on November 3, 2014, with the Pier 41 segment dropped. The single reverse commute trip on
4930-479: The first time in 65 years, Pacific Harbor Porpoise ( Phocoena phocoena ) returned to the bay in 2009. Golden Gate Cetacean Research, a non-profit organization focused on research on cetaceans , has developed a photo-identification database enabling the scientists to identify specific porpoise individuals and is trying to ascertain whether a healthier bay has brought their return. Pacific harbor porpoise range from Point Conception , California, to Alaska and across to
5015-458: The foot of 16th Street, with an interim terminal currently located at Pier 48. WETA plans to establish new service from Berkeley and Redwood City to San Francisco. Its long-term vision also includes service from San Francisco to Antioch , Hercules , Martinez , and Treasure Island . WETA projects the fleet to increase from 13 to 57 vessels by 2035 to accommodate these new services plus frequency increases on existing routes. As of early 2023,
5100-478: The former shoals to the north of Yerba Buena Island ) and used to raise islands in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The net effect of dredging has been to maintain a narrow deep channel—deeper perhaps than the original bay channel—through a much shallower bay. At the same time, most of the marsh areas have been filled or blocked off from the bay by dikes . Large ships transiting the bay must follow deep underwater channels that are maintained by frequent dredging as
5185-449: The headquarters and central transfer point for SolTrans. The City of Vallejo contracted with STV Incorporated to build the Transit Center. It has 12 bays for buses. The Transit Center opened in 2011. The Curtola Park & Ride also known simply as Curtola is a bus station in South Vallejo, California, United States. The facility serves as a bus hub for transportation on local, commuter, and long-distance bus services. In 2015
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#17327725341705270-440: The infill of wetlands and the bay in general, which had shrunk to two-thirds of its size in the century before 1961. The San Francisco Bay continues to support some of the densest industrial production and urban settlement in the United States. The San Francisco Bay Area is the American West's second-largest urban area, with approximately seven million residents. Despite its urban and industrial character, San Francisco Bay and
5355-491: The intercity routes continue to use MCI D4500 buses. SolTrans continues to use a small number of Orion V buses previously used by Vallejo Transit. SolTrans also makes use of small cutaway buses from Starcraft Bus and ElDorado National for Paratransit and Dial-a-ride services. All buses are bicycle and wheelchair accessible. In 2017, SolTrans introduced two new bus styles and accompanying updated paint scheme: An updated D4500 fueled by compressed natural gas (CNG); and
5440-482: The largest oil spill in the region since 1996. The bay also has some of the highest levels of dissolved inorganic nitrogen known from any coastal water body, mostly originating from treated wastewater from Publicly owned treatment works . In other bays, such nutrient levels would likely lead to eutrophication , but historically, the bay has had less harmful algal blooms than other water bodies with similar nutrient concentrations. Potential explanations have included
5525-432: The late 19th century and again with the initiation of dredging by the US Army Corps of Engineers in the 20th century. Before about 1860, most bay shores (with the exception of rocky shores, such as those in Carquinez Strait; along Marin shoreline; Point Richmond; Golden Gate area) contained extensive wetlands that graded nearly invisibly from freshwater wetlands to salt marsh and then tidal mudflat. A deep channel ran through
5610-522: The major damage close to the bay in the Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989 occurred to structures on these areas. The Marina District of San Francisco, hard hit by the 1989 earthquake, was built on fill that had been placed there for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition , although liquefaction did not occur on a large scale. In the 1990s, San Francisco International Airport proposed filling in hundreds more acres to extend its overcrowded international runways in exchange for purchasing other parts of
5695-405: The master real estate developer of the Harbor Bay development. The popularity of the revived ferries and the need for a robust ferry system in the event that the region's roads and tunnels become impassable in an emergency ultimately led to the creation of the San Francisco Bay Ferry system. The San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA) is a government entity created by
5780-429: The old coastline, and Potato Patch Shoal is an area of sand dunes now covered by the ocean. The indigenous inhabitants of the San Francisco Bay are Ohlone . The first European to see San Francisco Bay is likely N. de Morena who was left at New Albion at Drakes Bay in Marin County, California , by Sir Francis Drake in 1579 and then walked to Mexico. The first recorded European discovery of San Francisco Bay
5865-416: The presence of intensive "top-down control" from grazing clams like Potamocorbula , high sediment supply limiting light availability for the algae, and intensive tidal mixing. The occurrence of an unprecedented harmful algal bloom of Heterosigma akashiwo in 2022, resulting in mass fish deaths and anoxia, suggests that the mechanisms of control on algal growth may be eroding. The bay was once considered
5950-458: The purchase of new vessels, with an additional $ 17 million from the 1991 Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act . A new vessel (MV Jet Cat Express) and a new operator ( Blue & Gold Fleet ) began operations on July 1, 1994. Two high-speed catamarans (MV Intintoli and MV Mare Island) were put into service in May 1997 under a new Baylink brand. The MV Solano was added in 2004, allowing an increase from 11 to 15 daily round trips. This link
6035-405: The rivers that settled in those parts of the bay that had little or no current. Later, wetlands and inlets were deliberately filled in, reducing the bay's size since the mid-19th century by as much as one third. Recently, large areas of wetlands have been restored, further confusing the issue of the bay's size. Despite its value as a waterway and harbor , many thousands of acres of marshy wetlands at
6120-463: The rivers, progressively eroding into finer and finer sediment, until it reached the bay system. Here some of it settled, eventually filling in Suisun Bay, San Pablo Bay, and San Francisco Bay, in decreasing order of severity. By the end of the 19th century, these " slickens " had filled in much of the shallow bay flats, raising the entire bay profile. New marshes were created in some areas. In
6205-838: The rivers. San Francisco Bay is recognized for protection by the California Bays and Estuaries Policy , with oversight provided by the San Francisco Estuary Partnership . Most famously, the bay is a key link in the Pacific Flyway . Millions of waterfowl annually use the bay shallows as a refuge. Two endangered species of birds are found here: the California least tern and the Ridgway's Rail . Exposed bay muds provide important feeding areas for shorebirds , but underlying layers of bay mud pose geological hazards for structures near many parts of
6290-572: The sea level started to rise rapidly, by about 1 inch per year. Melting glaciers in the Sierra Nevada washed huge amounts of sediment down the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers, which accumulated on the shores of the bay, forming huge mudflats and marshes that supported local wildlife. By 5000 BC the sea level rose 300 feet (90 m), filling the valley with water from the Pacific. The Farallon Islands are what used to be hills along
6375-773: The shore line of San Francisco Bay at the time of the discovery of gold in California, January 24, 1848. Map reproduced above delineates old shore line. Placed by the Historic Landmarks committee, Native Sons of the Golden West , 1921." The bay became the center of American settlement and commerce in the Far West through most of the remainder of the 19th century. During the California Gold Rush (1848–1855), San Francisco Bay suddenly became one of
6460-549: The simultaneously-opened ferry terminal . The company lost money on the commuter service; in October 1988, the city began subsidizing service. The passage of Regional Measure 1 the next month provided additional funding. After the 1989 earthquake, service was temporarily increased using three ferries rented from the Washington State Ferries system. The 1990 passage of Proposition 116 provided $ 10 million for
6545-521: The west and the Hayward Fault to the east, though the precise nature of this remains under study. About 560,000 years ago, a tectonic shift caused the large inland Lake Corcoran to spill out the central valley and through the Carquinez Strait , carving out sediment and forming canyons in what is now the northern part of the San Francisco Bay and Golden Gate strait . San Francisco Bay has been filled and emptied of sea water many times during
6630-434: The wetlands of the San Francisco Bay with a high salt tolerance. It needs native pickleweed , which is often displaced by invasive cordgrass, for its habitat. The seasonal range of water temperature in the bay is from January's 53 °F (12 °C) to September's 60 °F (16 °C) when measured at Fort Point , which is near the southern end of the Golden Gate Bridge and at the entrance to San Francisco Bay. For
6715-622: The world's great seaports, dominating shipping in the American West until the last years of the 19th century. The bay's regional importance increased further when the first transcontinental railroad was connected to its western terminus at Alameda on September 6, 1869. The terminus was switched to the Oakland Long Wharf two months later on November 8, 1869. In 1910, the Southern Pacific railroad company built
6800-551: Was approved for funding and planning in 2015. Service commenced on January 10, 2019 with commute and limited reverse commute services. Weekday peak and evening service between the San Francisco Ferry Building and the Alameda Seaplane Lagoon on the southern shore of Alameda Island began July 1, 2021. An additional terminal in Mission Bay intended to serve events at Chase Center is expected to open in 2024 at
6885-714: Was called the Benicia Bay Connection . The city also began subsidizing the Benicia-Vallejo Stage Line. On October 1, 1986, the Bay Connection and Stage Line were merged to become Benicia Transit . This new company was managed by Community Transit Services, who were eventually acquired by Laidlaw . During the 1990s, Benicia Transit adds a number of additional routes, such as the Southampton Express (1991–2001) and as
6970-478: Was eventually retired in favor of Vallejo Transit Route 78, which extends the route to Walnut Creek . Discussions of merging the two transit agencies have occurred since 2005, however it wasn't until 2009 when a merger was seriously considered. In August, the Benicia city council reluctantly agreed with representatives of the Solano Transit Authority (STA) to study the possibility of creating
7055-468: Was founded 1915 by Milo Passalacqua. The Stage Line offered a route between Mare Island and Benicia, serving Vallejo's train stations and ferry docks. In 1982, the City of Benicia began operating Benicia Dial-a-Ride , a local demand responsive transit service. Service was later expanded on July 1, 1986 to include a fixed route between Benicia and the Pleasant Hill BART station ; this service
7140-646: Was largely completed by September 2009. Previously, the bay waters and harbor facilities only allowed for ships with a draft of 46 ft (14 m), but dredging activities undertaken by the United States Army Corps of Engineers in partnership with the Port of Oakland succeeded in providing access for vessels with a 50-foot (15 m) draft. Four dredging companies were employed in the US$ 432 ;million project, with $ 244 million paid for with federal funds and $ 188 million supplied by
7225-409: Was on November 4, 1769, when Spanish explorer Gaspar de Portolá , unable to find the Port of Monterey , continued north close to what is now Pacifica and reached the summit of the 1,200-foot-high (370 m) Sweeney Ridge , now marked as the place where he first sighted San Francisco Bay. Portolá and his party did not realize what they had discovered, thinking they had arrived at a large arm of what
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